otherwise? >> i don't know. go away. >> always a pleasure. bill schulz, you disgust me. reggie, always great. a pleasure for me. my name, however, is greg gutfeld and i shall see you next time. in the meantime i will stair. >> geraldo: hi, i'm geraldo rivera. we have been following their near death experience and miraculous rescue from a cave since august 5. as news breaks that that the stars of the show have sneaked out of their hospital rooms to reunite with the families, web to the report on the miracle that mess merizeed hundreds of millionsle television viewers, the wildly successful rescue of

the 33. mission accomplished. after 69 agonizing days and just before 10:00 p.m. local time wednesday, shift manager luis orzua becomes the last miner out. but before they became household names, the 33 were fighting for their lives. more than 2,000 feet underground. august 5. it begins with when they are trapped when the san jose copper and gold mine collapses around them. hundreds begin frantic efforts at rescue but cavein after cave forces them to abandon the efforts to drill their way in. august 27. 17 days after the shaft collapse. the first miracle. rescue workers hear tapping on a drill. when the drill reaches the surface, a note is attached to the bit.

estamos bien. we are fine in the shelter. the 33 of us. a video camera lowered through the bore hole shows the miners alive and is broadcast all over the world. but euphoria quickly turns to despair as chilean president announces the miners might not be reached until christmas. august 24. the near starving men begin receiving food, water, and oxygen. >> they are in a very humidity location and they have stated the inside of the mine. >> geraldo: august 31. nearly a month after the collapse. plan a, the first of three rescue shafts begins drilling. >> it is important not to build up false hopes. keep mckinlekeep in mind that o this for a living and they know

exactly how long the drilling will take. >> geraldo: september 8 as two other drilling efforts plan b and c race to the trapped miners, more video emerges showing the undaunted men cheering a soccer match between their nation and the ukraine. september 24. day 50 for the trapped miners sets a new record for survival deep underground. october 5. family members gather at camp hope, marking the two month anniversary of the collapse with prayer. october 12 as the world watches the first miner reaches the surface. as he walks out, his 7-year-old son greets him with tears of joy. then one-by-one, each man carefully lifted out of the dungeon that has been their home for 61 days. in the end their remarkable rescue takes less than 24 hours.

the mission many thought impossible is now complete. ♪ >> geraldo: imagine what is must have been like in those two and a half weeks, that endless night in the deep damp dark before they made contact with the surface. with that story and other dramatic details emerging following the remarkable rescue, adam housely joins us live outside the chile hospital. and i wonder has the partying stopped yet? >> you know, it hasn't geraldo. there is all sorts of parties being planned in the coming weeks here. the president of chile has to go to europe for a preplanned trip. we are told there is going to be a large party once he gets back. they were trying to do something before he left but some of the miners still are having issues. you talked about the first 17 days and you and i spoke about this on the pope.

phone. we are starting to get some details. not a lot. one man we approached through a local just signed a deal with a german television station for $10,000. all the money is supposed to go into one account and eventually split up equally amongst the miners. the first 17 days even with the blood pact they made to keep the stories basically for only those who paid for them. we learned a few details. the fact that after it happened they were concerned that they wouldn't make it out ever. they all went looking for any kind of hope for maybe a small opening. there were no openings at all. two of the men actually got into a truck down there and drove and it was so cloudy from the actual cavein they drove into the rocks that caved in part of their area. and then as the days wore on they were drinking water that tasted like oil and only a little capful each. they had to share basically a half spoon of tuna fish.

there were fights down below. the foreman actually broke up a group into three groups to keep some sort of order down there and as one of the miners told his family, it felt like his body was eating itself and only after the first relief hole came that first relief hole you spoke about just moments ago, only after that did the miners start joking about the possibility of cannibalism. geraldo, that is what we learned so far down there, the first 17 days. there are so many other side-bar stories to this including the fact that one of the men is a writer and penned apparently 30 chapters so far with the help of the other and taped that book or manuscript shut and is being approached by television stations and movie producers as well as publishers trying to get the story oh potentially and get it out to the world in a number of different formats. geraldo? >> geraldo: adam will be with us for the entire hour.

gonzalo a resident of chile and a free lance producer that is him on the right. the lovely regional medical director of the hospital there. dr. newman, let me start with you. how did they get out of the hospital? did they run out as renegades or did you escort them out through the backdoor to keep them from being on camera? >> hi, no, they didn't run out. we discharged them yesterday. at first we discharged three of them and then the other 30 went yesterday, the last one like 8:00. >> and. >> geraldo: how are they, generally speaking, how are they faring? some have vertigo. the 19-year-old was suffering from depression. generally speaking, how is their health? >> well, we -- our mission was to make secure that they were

healthy because since day 17 when we found them we had to secure to keep them healthy and with no illness. so we made our job since that day until the day the rescue came and we had to make some labs, some x-rays, and we knew the pathologies they could have. and also dental pathologies. so we run all of those -- all those exams and they were seen by the specialists and we secured that they were healthy and when we knew they were healthy, we discharged them. >> geraldo: dr. newman, can you say then that they are generally speaking, healthy? >> yeah, but there is

psychological aspect that it is going to be something that the symptoms because you can imagine someone being 70 days 700 meeters underground is going have psychological symptoms and this will be evaluated by the health mental team because that is the secure that covers this accident occurring in their job so some of them in this moment they are having the parties with their families and their relatives but this has to have an end, they have to close this chapter and then all of the psychological symptoms may present some anxiety or depression or mood alterations. so we don't know how that is

going to be developed. >> geraldo: understood and i know that you will be closely monitoring them in the weeks and months to come. let me ask gonzalo, is the nation, if the camera can pan over, is the nation still in a euphoria andor aria and celebration? >> yeah, they are still celebrating. we needed news like this because we suffered really big earthquake last february, the 8.8 earthquake. so, the country was really, really down and news like this is really, really wonderful because i think we needed something like this because you have to realize this 2010 year is a bicentennial so people are waiting something like this. >> geraldo: stand by as well. stay tuned we will have more on the mining miracle from chile and around the world, the

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>> the tears they shed after so much timecy part expressed not only their own joy but the joy of people everywhere. congratulations great laxe from everyone from president obama to pope benedict. >> reporter: from the time the firth miner was pulled from the depth it led just about every news broadcast around the world. here in new york city, reporters from every local station converged on the one chilian restaurant here in hell's kitchen. >> united states people, you know, from greece, from europe, from every part of the world are hoping, are watching and

are cooperating for the man that have been more than two months down there. >> cheers filled the tiny business tree and were echoed around the world as each miner took his first breath of fresh air. >> you came to the chilean restaurant to celebrate with the chilean people and the culture. >> wanted to be part of it. every time i hear there is another that was brought up i get goose bumps and it is wonderful. >> there are 5,000 chileans in the tri-state area around new york but tens of millions around the world watched the wall to wall coverage of the rescue effort. >> this morning 8:05 we finally broke through. >> for more than two weeks, no one knew whether the miners were dead or alive when their gold and copper mine collapsed

on august 5. in contrast, the live video images of the miners rising from the depths aboard the rescue capsule phoenix made each of the miners instant heros greeted by their president and the world. >> just getting to see their faces when they reunite with the families and the tears of joy it is really an amazing thing. >> geraldo? >> geraldo: he hosted the biggest party in washington this year. the spontaneous celebration in front of the chilean embassy. we welcome their ambassador to the united states. mr. ambassador, congratulations to you and your country. tell me about your big party. >> well, thank you very much. we decided to celebrate now and there was such a feeling over the embassy and the diplomatic

team but also the regular citizens and american friends and latin american friends but we decided to open our doors and receive all those feelings in one day. also we felt like we have a small part of that responsibility of this happiness because, you know, we use our team to send some part of the machine that turn out to be the hero here. >> geraldo: we tend to pay attention to latin america and to your nation of chile when something awful happens, a coo, an avalanche, an earthquake, here we are celebrating a technological achievement that the president, newly elected president i might add, staked his entire political fate on and it had this enormous happy end. how important is this for chile? >> it is a very important part of our history. i would say that, you know,

chile it is from now on it is becoming a more united country. a more confident country. also a free country. we spent probably 17 days with no news about the miners. the possibility to find them then alive were 2%. so, the country now is proud of itself, realizing the power of the spirit. >> geraldo: how are you reacting, mr. ambassador to all various stories of the miner with the mistress and the miner who wants to go to graceland to celebrate elvis presley. the greek government offering them beaches, all of the different movie deals and everything else coming down? this is a phenomenon that in some ways will keep on giving, is it not? >> absolutely. absolutely. i believe that all these gifts are coming because we are so grateful about the courage of these men. this are new details -- there are new details now, when they

are free and arriving to their homes we know that they had so much courage. they were running out of food. out of air. out of hope. and they organiz organized thes very well. chile is so proud about the people and they were working class people, so well organized with a leader, all these issues are making a real change in our country and i hope that this is going to be a model the most successful successful rescue in the history of mining is going to be a model for all other, you know, accidents in all over the world. >> geraldo: i hope that you're reflections there come out and prove to be true. i congratulate you, mr. ambassador. your wonderful nation that i have been blessed to spend some time in. and moving forward you are and this saga is an example hopefully for all of us in the

future. thank you, mr. ambassador. gracias. >> thank you, dished, for inviting me. >> -- thank you, geraldo, for inviting me. >> coming up we will meet the american heros who played a role. and surviveors of our own mining miracle. mining miracle. join me live, back in adrs39

i got an egg [pop] i got gum a kazoo a candy necklace i got one of these [pop] a stamp helium fabric softener ear plugs [pop] lipstick two pills a day is what it takes to stay alive if you're hiv positive. those pills cost about forty cents a day.

>> geraldo: we have heard have all from the miner who proprosed a church wedding for his long time bride, she accepted by the way and they are getting married on his birthday, and we heard about the miner whose wife got the cash but his mistress got the spot light. joining us, the editorial director of latino magazine. start with the fellow with the wife and mistress that everyone is to. >> his story is extra rivetting. the wife found out the husband was cheating on her are when she showed up at the site and the mistress was also there. the mistress came up to greet him. the wife said great for him i'm glad he is okay. if he wants to talk to me he can call my lawyer. >> geraldo: funny. can we assume he is staying with the mistress? >> he apparently is holed up

with her at her house as we speak. >> geraldo: holed up with her. >> i think we can guess what they are doing. >> geraldo: the runner. >> he love they gave each another nicknames. he ran 6 miles a day while underground to keep mentally and physically fit. the new york city marathon invited him to come and either be a guest at this year's event or to participate. >> geraldo: and that that is also on november 7. no word on whether he accepted. >> they are having a hard time getting in touch with him so we are spreading the word. >> mario sepulvida. >> he came out and he was the comedian and giving rocks as souvenirs and mementos. a guy that looked like he had a great time underground? >> geraldo: and you are reminded of the alive disaster and they actually ended up eating each other. adam housely who we will hear from at the bottom of the hour

and others referenced the dark jokes about can balis many when they were really hungry. >> i think in dark moments you have to find a way to keep a sense of humor otherwise you would go crazy. >> geraldo: i wonder if it was just joking. get hungry and start look at the other guy's forearm. >> thank 68lfully they got out before they had to resort to that. >> victor, the writer. >> he kept meticulous notes of their ordeal and have to figure those going to come in handy now that they have inundated with movie deals and book deals and reality shows and wanting to turn the experience into a video game. the opportunities of limitless. >> chile has seen itself as a first world nation. technologically advanced. i only have a couple of seconds. is this the event that can put chile in the first ranks? >> absolutely. i think they are proud that the world's eyes were on them and

they triumphed. >> geraldo: i'm so happy for them. thank you so much. coming up, drilling for a miracle. you will meet the americans behind the joyous chilean rescue. stay tuned, we'll be right back. we will also me news .com.

large." >> geraldo: welcome back live, everybody. before continuing our joy-filled special report on the chilean mining miracle, comes secon sobering news of disasters that demonstrates the perils faced by these men who go underground. at least 21 chinese miners dead tonight after a coal dust explosion shattered their underground chamber. the far flung coal mining industry is plagued by poor working conditions and lack safety regulations. suffering 2600 deaths in the last year alone. in the immediate aftermath of

today's explosion, 239 workers did manage to escape but if they are still alive, at least 16 more remain trapped by tons of shattered rock. and this is a second fox news alert. in the south american nation of ecuador, rescuers restrived the bodies of two of the four miners trapped there by a different tunnel collapse 490 feet underground. their search continues for the two still missing. tonight is about life not death. and to bring us more on the miracle we go back to chile and our adam housely and sitting alongside him, dr. newman. this time i will put gentleman before lady if i may. adam, the joy is some what tempered by anger. the esteban mining company has been sued by 27 at least of the 33 miners. tell me about the reputation of this company, you know, it is

different than the reputation of the nation that restrived the miners. >> that has been addressed by a bunch of the miners. as they have been released the one thing they have spoke p about is their anger towards what they felt were improper conditions at the mine. one miner had been trapped in the same mine for a couple of weeks a couple of years ago. they have had problem there's and the company itself if you ask people in the town it is a love/hate relationship. this is a large city in this part of the country. you have people that for literally generations have worked in the mines and so in one segment they love some of the mines and some of the companies and yet in the other segment they can't stand certain mines and certain companies but they have to work there because this is where they make the good money. a love/hate relationship. this mine paid well but since they have been digging there since the 1800s was known for

being not very sturdy. the president said now that they had this great celebration and so many things happened and the world is watching us he says the next thing we have to do is push for better conditions in the mines but also not only with private agencies but government agencies, too, because there is other industries here he feels have slipped in recent years. a newly elected president, by the way, this year. we got a chance to ask him a question, too, geraldo. we were only three or four feet away from him during the press conference and i asked if i could ask him a question in english and he said, yes. his response was interesting. i said the whole world is watching this, a great day, what can we learn from this and what do you think has made this such a big story? >> he said he thought the reason why they were successful and people were watching because they reacted quickly and strongly. he said they weren't afraid to ask for help and he specifically thanks the united states, canada and australia and talked about how we have

such a great and close relationship. >> geraldo: doctor, newman, just a couple of seconds. how is the baby doing that was born down there? >> excuse me? >> the baby wasn't born down in the hole but the miner who came up his baby was born during the time that he was down below. i lost some in the tra transla. >> the babe is all right. when the baby was born i went to visit the mother and the baby and we gave them some flowers and it is okay and then when they established video conferences it was possible to take the baby to the camera where the video conference were done so then the father could meet the baby. it was very beautiful. >> geraldo: dr. newman, thank you very much. adam thank you as well.

watch this. >> let me also commend so many people of goodwill not only in chile but also from the united states and around the world lending a hand in the rescue effort from the team that helped design the escape vehicle to american companies that manufactured and delivered parts of rescue drill to the american engineer who flew in from afghanistan to operate the drill. >> geraldo: the brave chilean souls above and below the ground are certainly the stars of the story but the happy ending we are all enjoying might not have been possible or at least would have certainly been delayed or weeks or even months if not for the work of a few stellar american companies and highly skilled mckinley en. everhart of lane christianson company. he was the drill operateor for the rescue mission. that is jim stefanik, the operations manager with geotech boyles brothers. they chose the drilling team.

both men joining me via skype from the chilean capital. jeff, i was thinking maybe matt damon may plays you in the movie and george clean clooney plays jim. what do you think? >> works perfect. >> i think that is a good idea. >> geraldo: good casting? >> that would work out great. >> geraldo: describe your reaction when you got the call this they needed you to dig 33 guys out of a hole a quarter of a mile deep? >> we were pretty excited actually. we had been watching since we heard the collapse happened and then obviously our have piqued once we knew there were miners alive. never thought we would get the call but once we got the call, dropped everything and headed on to chile. >> geraldo: did you feel why me? did you feel why this enormous responsibility? did you feel nervous?

>> you know, the closer it got, the more nervous you got. but we know what we do every day and this kind of fit the bill so we were just kind of preparing ourselves on what we would do and how we would do this and talked about some of the issues that we may have but for the most part, no, he was excited to get here. >> geraldo: jim, the fact that they were live people in that hole, that must have put an enormous burden on your shoulders? >> no doubt. we were used to drilling and drilling all over the world for many years now and we drill a lot of big diameter holes but never for people and when you know it kind of hits you there when jeff and i talked about it many nights that you know, in this case this thy i there is e down there waiting for us

hopefully to get the hole drilled so they can come out and be with fai their familiesd your drill is working double what it normally works. >> geraldo: you guys were the plan b, though, jim. you know, they had the plan a going. a plan c behind you but plan b succeeded where plan a certainly didn't meet this deadline. why did you guys drill so much deeper so much faster? >> well, mainly because we used a different technology. we knew we had drilled above that hole of plan b railroa alo we knew the kind of rock we would be drilling. made it ideal to drill with air and hammers and rock drilling with air and hammers are a faster way to get the heel drilled. >> geraldo: and i wonder, jeff, your reaction when you heard

the president of the united states referencing you and the efforts that you made that really brought the people of the united states gave them, gave us a personal, you know, stake in this whole drama. >> yeah, absolutely. it is always good. you know, it is tough for us because in our reality we don't think we did anything above and beyond what we would do every day. the difference is the scenario obviously there were people involved and we got out there as quick as we could. feels good. it is great to be acknowledged. it is an overall good feeling. i think the chileans here while we have been here have been absolutely phenomenal and we will see what the home coming is like once we get back to the states. >> geraldo: it will be step sixal. tell me what you felt -- it will be sensational. tell me the moment once you knew the drill by the pierced the chamber that held the 33

souls? >> it is overwhelming is a good word. one of those deals where you have a ton of stress that actually is finally relieved but yet on the other hand you have a bunch of excitement. it is emotional because you know that the guys downstairs are finally having an avenue out. it was a very emotional moment. >> geraldo: and when the first miner, jeff, broke the surface? >> you know, we planned that night so we could all be together and kind of watch this unfold. planned on having a party, but you know when we saw the capsule, the first time reach to the bottom of the mine to where one of the miners could actually get in, the first one gets to the surface it was extremely sobering for us actually because we couldn't believe it was actually happening in front of our eyes and we had a big part of it. it was a phenomenal feeling. >> geraldo: jim, this must in

some way be tremendous for your company. i can't think of better p.r. i mean if i was going to drill a mine some place or an oil or whatever it is, i would certainly give you guys a call first. >> well, i'm glad to hear that and hopefully we will get your call. this is what we do all the time. we are in the drilling business and in this case here it was definitely our most important project we have ever been on and definitely the most important i have been on because we are trying to save lives and that puts it in a whole another league. we did our job and that is what we do all the time and in this case we couldn't afford to make any mistakes. >> geraldo: jim and jeff, the drill operator, congratulations to both of you. matt damon for you, jeff and maybe bruce willis for jim.

congratulations. we are overflowing with our admiration for the job you did. >> we appreciate that very much. >> geraldo: we'll have personal stories from the men who were -- played a key role in our own miracle of the mine. thethere in cue creek, pennsylvania. the man in the middle was trapped down there for three

>> the good news is they got the first minuter up out of the hole. it happened this quick we will have them all out real soon. >> imagine what it was like for harry and may hugh and the others trapped so deep in conditions unbearable for the rescue. >> one guy got down and the rest pulled together and that guy would get back up and someone else was still a little weaker but it was a team evangelicals. >> the they endured frigid temperaturessers riding waters,

darkness, hunger and fear. nine men trapped in pennsylvania's mine would become the objects of one of the the largest american rescue efforts in decades when all were safely brought to the surface we celebrated with the slogan nine four nine. and my guest tom foy was one of the nine. he joins us from cue creek along with bill arnold. and joe stefani. tom, how are you doing? >> real good. real good. >> geraldo: ever go back down after that eight years ago? >> no, i didn't. no, i don't. >> geraldo: do you miss it? >> i miss the guys and i do miss mining, tell you the truth. >> geraldo: why not going back down? >> i think i put my wife and my kids and everybody through enough misery so they said you're not going back. >> geraldo: 77 hours. what was the worst part of it?

was it the water rising? >> well, survival was our biggest problem, trying to survive. the first. >> geraldo: go ahead, go ahead, tell me. >> the first 8 to 10 hours that was probably the worst right there because we was running out of oxygen. and we figured we had maybe about an hour left. i mean that was pretty critical right there. >> geraldo: so how did you get air? how did you get oxygen? >> well, they drilled the first air hole and then from there once we all got back up on our feet that is when we tried to go down and escape then and barricade, you name it, we just tried to survive. >> geraldo: and after the spot light left you, how was your life different? did you miss it? did you feel a sense of anticlimax? did you have post traumatic stress disorder, tom?

>> we had that for awhile. i mean everybody's body is different. some guys, i mean it didn't really bother them too much. but i was down probably about a year and a half. but i mean there is going be the same thing with them guys over there too, so. >> geraldo: at least you didn't have a mistress and wife fighting over you, tom. >> well, that's something i don't really like to talk about. >> geraldo: okay. that was a joke. i hope i didn't hurt anybody's feelings. >> they need to concentrate on other things. >> geraldo: okay. you got it. bill, you started your farm is right over the mine there. you started this foundation. tell me how you have been affected by this? >> well, it pretty much changed our life. but it has changed it for the better. we have thousands and thousands of people coming to see the miracles that took place here. and that is a very good thing.

we are also very close to flight 93 so we have a lot of people coming to see flight 93 and then they come here to kind of be lifted up and inspired by the miracles that took place here. it is a very good thing. >> geraldo: let me take a brief intermission here. i will come back to the heros of the cue creek pennsylva=ññ÷ thas to the venture card from capital one, we get double miles on every purchase. so we earned an la getaway twice as fast. we get double miles every time we use our card.

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back live. joined by tom foy, one of the surviveors of the mining accident eight years ago. on your right, bill arnold who runs the mine rescue foundation. the farm right above the shaft, the ill fated shaft and joe on your left, pennsylvania's department of environmental protection bureau of mine

safety director. tom, is it true that you work for the company now that helped or played some role in the chilean rescue? >> yes, do i. it's called center rock berlin. we designed the bit and i think we sent three or four of them over there and that is what made the holes. >> geraldo: and joe, i guess that is the capsule behind you. it is impossible not to see the similarities. so who developed that technology and tell me the similarities and differences if you can between cue creek and this? >> the capsules are very similar. here we had the vertical lift, down in chile they were on angles and had some bends so designed it with wheels and teflon slides but similar in size, similar in weight. this capsule here that was used was put in service 30 years before in 1972 it was designed

by westinghouse at the request of the mine safety and health administration. and it was never used for an actual rescue for 30 years until cue creek. >> geraldo: and then when i was there when it was nine for nine. describe how pennsylvania and this country responded? people forget, from the 2002. >> well, there was no question that, you know, it was very uplifting for everyone, especially the people that were here on site. you know, everybody pitched in. there were hundreds of people, drillers, service people, all the agencies that were involved. we had some of the best expertise in the country and the best equipment and everybody was here for one reason and that was to get the miners out. after the rescue was completed, it was just an outpouring from everybody that there was great news that the whole country needed. inevitable it is in everybody

after spending 69-70 days underground knowing that the world is watching does the euphoria give way to depression or even despair? miners?ress cuedrtress cued does the group take on its own dynamic. dr. bishop? >> absolutely. not only is the dynamic formed by their experiences underground but when they come up and they are now back in the world they turn to each other to find support for what they are experiencing like many surviveors no one can understand what you went through unless you were actually there. >> geraldo: and once the spot light leaves people who are ill equipped to deal with the spot light to begin with, what happens then? >> well, you know, it is the surviveor high that they are going through right now, will as many have pointed out

eventually abate. and then they are going to have to deal with all of the pressures from the media and the different offers. that kind of intense loss of privacy and being under the spot light even though the media goes away they still have their -- the demands upon them for the book offers and movie offers and that will be a source of stress that will try and pull the group apart. >> geraldo: let me go back to tom. final thoughts, tom, on this event that changed your life? >> well, talking about all of the media and stuff we got, i mean it is really good for the media, i mean you got to get out. without them, you wouldn't be able to thank everybody that worked to save us and to get us out and everything. so, i kind of -- that is why i'm up here tonight to thank everybody that done all their praying for us and helped out over in chile there.

without the media and stuff covering some of the stuff you wouldn't really know what is going on. >> geraldo: without you guys we wouldn't have warm houses come this winter. tom, i thank you. joe, thank you. bill arnold, great success with the foundation.